E-Paper
Bhardwaj temple, a picture of utter neglect!
The Bhardwaj temple situated on the campus of Bhardwaj Ashram in Colonelganj locality of the city finds its mention in the epic Ramayan. Bhardwaj Ashram was the spot where Lord Ram met sage Bhardwaj while on his way to Chitrakoot. Leaving no evidence of its construction, the temple has just a single stone with the inscription 'Renovated in 1968 by Birla Jan Kalyan Trust'. There is a lingam installed in the main structure which is known as Bhardwajeshwar.
The Bhardwaj temple situated on the campus of Bhardwaj Ashram in Colonelganj locality of the city finds its mention in the epic Ramayan. Bhardwaj Ashram was the spot where Lord Ram met sage Bhardwaj while on his way to Chitrakoot.
Leaving no evidence of its construction, the temple has just a single stone with the inscription 'Renovated in 1968 by Birla Jan Kalyan Trust'.
There is a lingam installed in the main structure which is known as Bhardwajeshwar. There is also a sandstone idol of Bhardwaj placed next to it, but interestingly the other small temples built at the main premises also showcase the idols of Bhardwaj and the priests here claim that their's is the authentic one.
The temple is one of the main tourist spots of the city but only an entrance has been constructed by the tourism department so far.
"We are developing the place step by step and there are plans for installing floodlights here," said RK Yadav, Regional Tourist officer.
Other idols found in the temple are that of Prayagraj, Maa Durga, Ganesh, Atri, Anusuiya, Eklavya, Annapurna Mata, Agust, Bhrigu, Vashihstha, Dhan Kuber and several others. "These idols belong to the medieval period," said Prof JN Pal of Ancient History Department, Allahabad University. "Dr BV Lal carried out excavations here and the Saini mela held at Naini is related to sage Bhardwaj. It is said that sage Bhardwaj asked Lord Ram to make a wish under the banyan tree which was located in Naini. It was uprooted during the construction of the Chheoki railway track," said Dr Pradeep Kesarwani, guest faculty at Ancient History department, Allahabad University.
"Bhardwaj was a sage belonging to the Vedic period. The Bhardwaj Ashram located at a considerable height was actually an institution and he was its Vice-Chancellor. More than 10,000 students were educated here. They used to come from far off places and the branch of this institution was also in Hardwar," said Dr DP Dubey of Ancient History Department, Allahabad University.
According to Dr Dubey, Tulsidas mentioned about this Ashram in Ramcharitmanas and Maithili poet Vidyapati describes it in 'Huparikramnam' penned by him.
Confluence of renowned erudites used to take place in the Ashram annually during Magh Mela. "This Ashram covered the radius of approximately 2.25 miles and the rest of the area surrounding it was a thick forest. River Ganga flowed by its side and it was built on a raised mound. The Bhardwaj temple was actually the part of the entire Ashram or we could say a place where the students could offer prayers," said Dr Dubey.
"The 'gaddi' of sage Bhardwaj continued afterwards. It could be added here that the Ashram was a prosperous one when Bharat visited the place with his entire cavalry while on his way to meet Lord Rama. He was accorded a royal welcome here," added Dr Dubey.
But ironically the Bhardwaj temple is presently in a shambles as it is yet to be developed as a heritage spot. The visitors to the temple often fall prey to the pressures of priests who keep pestering for donation in the name of religion.
This is tarnishing the image of the city to a considerable extent in the eyes of the tourists. And if such things are not checked then it will become a distant dream to develop Allahabad as a flourishing place of pilgrimage like Varanasi.
